Asked by h

How can irradiation solve a societal problem?
It can improve medicines.
It can treat inherited diseases.
It can protect the environment.
It can prevent food-borne diseases.

All Answers 1

Answered by GPT-5 mini AI
Answer: All except "It can treat inherited diseases."

Brief explanations:
- It can improve medicines — Yes. Irradiation is widely used to sterilize medical equipment and pharmaceuticals, to produce radiopharmaceuticals for diagnosis and therapy, and to modify polymers (e.g., tubing, implants) to improve performance.
- It can protect the environment — Yes. Electron-beam and gamma irradiation can degrade pollutants, disinfect wastewater and sewage sludge, and reduce the need for chemical treatments in some processes.
- It can prevent food-borne diseases — Yes. Food irradiation kills bacteria, parasites and insects, extends shelf life, and reduces foodborne illness without leaving chemical residues.
- It can treat inherited diseases — No, not as a direct cure. Ionizing radiation damages DNA and is not a method for correcting inherited genetic defects. (Nuance: radiation may be used in conditioning regimens before bone marrow/stem-cell transplants that can cure certain inherited blood disorders, but the irradiation itself does not fix the underlying genetic mutation.)